The London Declaration concerning the Laws of Naval War was a proposed international code of

maritime law Maritime law or admiralty law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between pri ...

, especially as it relates to wartime activities, in 1909 at the London Naval Conference by the leading European

naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

powers, the

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and

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, after a multinational conference that occurred in 1908 in

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. The declaration largely reiterated existing law, but dealt with many controversial points, including

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") is any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It comprises goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes of the leg ...

and

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

, and showed greater regard to the rights of neutral entities. The declaration was signed by most of the great powers of the day:

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, the

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, and the

. (It was also signed by the

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and

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.)Declaration concerning the Laws of Naval War: Signatory States
icrc.org. However, no state ever ratified the declaration and consequently it never came into force. The United States insisted that the belligerent nations fighting in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

abide by the Declaration, while the British and Germans increasingly ignored it. The British geostrategist and naval historian Sir Julian Corbett argued strongly against the provisions of the Declaration, which sought to outlaw 'general capture' of enemy commerce on the high seas during wartime. In his earlier 1907 essay 'The Capture of Private Property at Sea', he argued that the curtailment of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

's right to seize enemy shipping would have a detrimental impact on Britain's ability to wage economic warfare against a continental enemy, economic warfare being the single most important function of the Navy, in his view.Corbett, J. (1907
'The Capture of Private Property at Sea', A. T. Mahan, ''Some Neglected Aspects of War''
(Boston: 1907). The arguments he set out gained currency within the Navy and British government, and would eventually prevail with Britain's decision not to ratify the Declaration and the successful waging of maritime economic warfare, including 'general capture', against Germany during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In any case, the London Declaration was greatly deficient in referring only to surface ships and completely ignoring

submarine warfare Submarine warfare is one of the four divisions of underwater warfare, the others being anti-submarine warfare, Naval mine, mine warfare and Naval mine, mine countermeasures. Submarine warfare consists primarily of Diesel engine, diesel and nu ...

, which was to play a major role in both World Wars.

Notes

References

* John Westlake, ''International Law: War'' (London, 1910) * ''American Journal of International Law'' (supplement, New York, 1909) *

Andrew Lambert Andrew David Lambert (born 31 December 1956) is a British naval historian, who since 2001 has been the Laughton Professor of Naval History in the Department of War Studies, King's College London. Academic career After completing his doctoral ...

(ed.) ''21st Century Corbett: Maritime Strategy and Naval Policy for the Modern Era''. (Annapolis, 2017) Ch. 3.

External links

Declaration concerning the Laws of Naval War
icrc.org (includes full text and signatory states and dates)

Human Rights Library,

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

{{Authority control Law of the sea treaties International humanitarian law treaties Treaties concluded in 1909 Blockades Unratified treaties 1909 in London